Advising for students interested in the pre-physical therapy program is done by Scott Drum in the School of Health and Human Performance.
Students interested in a career in physical therapy will need to complete graduate studies in physical therapy after completing a baccalaureate degree program at NMU. Similar to medical doctor training, physical therapy students must complete the Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) degree program before they can become a licensed physical therapist.
While students may enroll in any baccalaureate degree program at NMU, there are specific prerequisite requirements for admission into DPT programs. Generally, these prerequisites include coursework in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and psychology. At NMU, the pre-physical therapy adviser works with students to understand the specific requirements of the various DPT programs around the country and helps students tailor their baccalaureate degree with the appropriate prerequisite courses. Because of the overlap between the DPT program prerequisites and the NMU baccalaureate degrees in Sports Science or Biology, many students choose one of these majors.
An undergraduate education at NMU provides students with the level of rigor required for admission into a DPT program. In addition, NMU maintains an articulation agreement with Central Michigan University (CMU) to provide two non-competitive interviews for possible admission into the DPT program at CMU.